As we’ve discuss elsewhere in other posts, Lieutenant Albert M. Lea – in 1836 – published the first book (above left) that introduced Easterners to this new land in the West called Iowa. Three years later (1839), John Plumbe, Jr. published an equally-important volume (above right) that perked the attention of those who were seriously considering the idea of starting a new life in America’s new West. Both books included a beautifully-engraved map (see below) – providing early pioneers with some of their earliest looks at this wild prairie on the other side of the Mississippi River.
In 1840, a third volume on the subject of Iowa Territory was published, and while it didn’t find the wide circulation of its two predecessors, Isaac Gilland’s Iowa Emigrant did give its readers the most accurate, first-hand report of what to expect when moving westward into Iowa. And, as you can see below, it also included a large map of Iowa Territory as well…
Click here for more on the early maps of Iowa.
Dr. Isaac Galland was born in Somerset, Pennsylvania on May 15, 1791* to Matthew Galland and Hannah Fenno during their move from Norfolk, Virginia to the Western frontier. Shortly after his birth, his family relocated to the Northwest Territory – near, what is today, Marietta, Ohio. One biographer states that this remote location of the Galland homestead did not hinder Isaac’s education, since his mother, an educated woman, took on the responsibility of teaching him as much as she could until he was thirteen. Although little is known of his teenage life before his marriage at 18, according to family tradition, Isaac left Marietta (age 13) to study at The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, while other sources indicate that he left home to search for gold in Mexico, was seized by the Spanish government, and spent one year in a Santa Fe prison for “suspicion of evil design.”
After returning from his Mexican gold adventure, Galland married – his first of four marriages over his lifetime – moving then to Indiana (early 1820’s) where he studied and practiced medicine among settlers, which is why he is referred to as “Doctor” in some documents. Over the years, Isaac also became rather fluent in several Native languages and gained the trust of many tribes, among whom he would live and trade for much of his life. In 1827, the Galland family moved to a remote site on the eastern bank of the Mississippi River at Yellow Banks, the site of present-day Oquawka, Illinois, where Isaac established a trading post. It’s very likely that Galland knew Stephen Sumner Phelps – the fur trader from Yellow Banks who, along with his brother, William – set up trading posts on the Iowa tributaries – including the Iowa River – branching off the Mississippi.
Two years later, in 1829, Galland sold his trading post in Yellow Banks and moved southward – across the river – settling (illegally) in the unorganized U.S. Territory (Iowa), which, officially, didn’t open up for settlement until the signing of the Black Hawk Purchase (1833). Here, in what is now Lee County, Iowa, Galland established a new settlement – Nashville, located three miles southeast of Montrose – where he practiced medicine and set up a trading post. By 1830, other families had joined the new settlement, so Galland hired a teacher and built a log house – founding the first school in Iowa. Iowa historian – William J. Peterson – tells us more…
A man of many talents, Isaac Galland not only started the first school in Iowa (1830), but in 1837, he, along with David W. Kilbourne, platted the original village of Keokuk, Iowa. That same year, Galland – in Montrose – founded Iowa’s second newspaper – The Western Adventurer and Herald of the Upper Mississippi – to encourage land development in the area. Again, William J. Peterson tells us more…
Read about the earliest newspapers of Iowa here.
Records indicate that Galland sold the paper in 1838 to James G. Edwards, who changed the name to The Fort Madison Patriot.
Which brings us, now, to 1840, and the publication of Galland’s Iowa Emigrant: Containing A Map, and General Description of Iowa Territory…
As we mentioned earlier, while Galland’s publication in 1840 never reached the sales expectations he, and others, had for it, his little 28-page book did leave for today’s historians one of the most descriptive overviews of Iowa as it was in its earliest days. In 1950, The State Historical Society of Iowa published a re-print of Gallant’s classic (see below). In it, Iowa historian William J. Peterson wrote a valuable five-page introduction – some of which we have used on this page. Below is Peterson’s opening comments on the historical importance of Isaac Galland’s 1840 writings…
You can read the entire 1950 re-print publication of Galland’s Iowa Emigrant here…
Between 1827 – when he first moved to Yellow Bank, Illinois – and the 1850’s, Isaac Galland was a well-known land investor, buying and selling land on both the Illinois and Iowa sides of the Mississippi River.
From 1842 to 1853, Galland resided in Keokuk, and in 1851, at age 60, he ran for the Iowa State Legislature, but lost – primarily because of his shady reputation as a land speculator. Once again, William J. Peterson tells us more…
Suffice to say that Galland’s land transactions were heavily scrutinized, and by 1853, he decided to leave Iowa “until his legal difficulties were resolved” – moving to Sacramento, California – only to return three years later in 1856 to Fort Madison. It’s here, Dr. Isaac Galland died – at the age of 67 – on September 27, 1858.
Today, Dr. Isaac Galland is largely unknown to most Iowans, but is remembered by the little Lee County community he founded in 1829 (see map above). When Galland first settled in Iowa, the Sauk tribe called this area – Ah-wipe-tuck – the head of the rapids – and as we mentioned earlier, Galland named this new settlement – Nashville. After his death, the town was renamed in honor of its founder, and Galland Hill – located on the Montrose to Keokuk River Road – is named for him as well.
Here’s a salute to one of Iowa’s least-known historians – Dr. Isaac Galland.
Kudos to the amazing resources below for the many quotes, photographs, etc. used on this page.
Isaac Galland: Both Sides of the River, Susan Easton Black, Mormon Historic Sites Foundation
Isaac Galland – Biography, Joseph Smith papers
The Galland School: An Iowa First, Iowa PBS
Montrose Township, Galland School replica, Iowa One Room Schools, September 15, 2013
Click here to go on to the next section…
Click here for a complete INDEX of Our Iowa Heritage stories…